the unpolished gem

i saw the dispenser. the drink i had wanted costs 70 cents. "ah, this must be a good time to clear my heavy wallet of coins."

twenty...forty...sixty...sixty-five.

i shook harder.

sixty-five.

i had chosen to empty it at my previous cash dealing.

it was a hot day yesterday, plus, i was a little downcast.
it felt like nothing had worked my way.
the typical every-traffic-light-turns-red-on-me kind of day.

and i guess for a while, i hated the loser feeling that was building up inside of me.

i have big dreams. i have daring ambitions. i harbor high aspirations.
however, i have always seemed, at least on a few important occasions in my life, to always be a little short of the hero i had envisioned myself to be.

in primary school, i had always topped my level. everybody, the principal also, had expected me to be named the best PSLE scorer for that year. it went to a friend.

in secondary school, i wanted to be a leader. but i was dropped off the list for an early promotion. my friends made it, though.

i wanted to graduate from a 'dream' junior college. but i ended in a school i had told myself and a friend, "cursed be the one who lands there". apparently, i fulfilled that prophesy.

i wanted to prove myself again in the army. i missed it.

later in life, i wanted to make it to a desirable business undergraduate program. it appeared, however, i did not meet any minimum cut-off criteria.



but wait, i forgot an important disclaimer. i was not destined to be a fallen star at all. in fact, every time, new surprises were in store for me, and i eventually reaped more than i would have asked for.

though i could only cry at my PSLE shame, it was material in making a decision for me to be posted to Anglican High, and i say with all my heart that nothing could become better than that. it was a place where opportunities abounded, and it laid the foundation for the spirit of excellence thriving in every living cell of mine.

i missed the early promotion in my CCA. most people would only increase their stripes by one at the end of the day, or two for the better ones. (a total of three was the highest achievable). logically, i started from zero, and would be thanking my stars if i was awarded two. but i took a path unheard of and eventually got three, and even got my Chief Commissioner's Award. i am proud of those, amongst the many other things i can be thankful for in the unit.

i CHOSE my junior college, and i graduated from secondary school with very desirable results. i knew, as a young believer, God had a divine plan for me, and i cannot be more thankful for walking the life of a Saint. it IS a dream junior college, i did not realize early.

i am so glad i fell from the selections in the various recruitment drives of the singapore armed forces, because i was eventually posted to the best combat unit i could i could ever want to be in in my life, and i met with some of the most fabulous people on earth. they still remain very very important to me.

thank God for interviews, and i got accepted into not one, but two of my top choices for university admission. today, i am proud to say that though i had not entered singapore management university with spectacular results comparable to my peers, i am thankful for the chance placed on the golden platter. with the same determination i've been working hard, and i smile at every good achievement i have made for myself thus far, big or small.



you know what? melvin is like an unpolished gem.
you may not have known, you may not have expected.
but God knows, like the right people in my life do, that he is a worthy investment.
his hidden shine, when revealed with time, will surely not be any less than the best of your pick. :)